09/25/2013

Bike Shifter Hack

Reader Toby didn't want to spend his hard earned cash on an expensive flight deck upgrade, so he came up with his own elegant and funtional solution. Take it away Toby . . .

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Not wishing to spend money on upgrading the flight deck on an old Claud Butler touring bike that I fully restored, I looked for a way to change gears from the hoods and also from the drops like a standard roadbike flight deck while keeping things looking as tidy as possible.

I had and old tatty Dawes mountain bike fitted with old Shimano GS200 seven speed so had a go at fitting them to the bike.

The hardest part was getting the angle right on the bracket holding the shifters so that they were at the best angle to reach from all the required positions and have just enough room to fit my fingers, which are somewhat on the large side anyway, around the hoods.

Taking it on a few rides now I find that it works really well. I could do with a faster top gear than the 14 tooth fitted freewheel gives but it rides beautifully.